Monday, March 22, 2010

Alexi Giannoulias on Kirk's "Repeal it" Pledge

"I'm Mark Kirk, and I can't wait to vote against health care reform next week."

That was Republican Congressman Mark Kirk last week, caught on tape barely able to contain his exuberance at voting against health care for millions. And it's not enough for him to vote against the bill:

If elected, U.S. Senate candidate Mark Kirk is promising he will "lead the effort" to repeal the health care reform package Democrats are working furiously to pass. The North Shore Republican made the statement at a New Trier GOP Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner last Friday.

Alexi Giannoulias, Illinois' beleaguered Democratic U.S. Senate nominee, has probably crossed a black cat, walked under a ladder or cracked a mirror in the last 6 months -- or maybe all of the above.

Can his candidacy elude a death by 1,000 cuts?

The latest malady to hit the hyper-ambitious Illinois treasurer is the impending failure of his family's Broadway Bank. The mantle of a successful community banker was his main claim to fame, catapulting the young political novice into office in 2006. If the feds shut down the bank (and even the cocky Giannoulias admits that's likely), it will put a fatal hurt on the G-Man's electoral prospects.

No candidate ever wants to pack it in, especially one with an oversized noggin. Still, the abundance of junk in Giannoulias' political trunk begs for a reappraisal of his Senate candidacy. Bright Start, Boston Blackies, bank foreclosure -- and we're not even through the "B's."